INTERVIEW WITH MICHAEL FLIRI
ELISA MUSCATELLI

I’ve always been fascinated by silent films.
The visual, which does without language.
After reading your questions, I was inspired to respond with images of my work.

Elisa Muscatelli – How would you describe your artistic practice to an audience encountering it for the first time? 

Michael Fliri – CL-o-WN (2019). With the figure of the Clown! According to what Fellini observed, he embodies the irrational aspect of the human being, the fantastic creature, the component guided by instinct, which rebels against any established order. The Clown cultivates the animalistic side of the man and the child in us. It is a struggle between good reason and the liberation of instincts. We are dealing with one of the best figures who can live contradictions, without being contradictory.

EM – The masks and the practices of transvestism have ancient and religious origins. What do you think of contemporary art’s reinterpretation of these elements?

MF –  Polymorphic Archetypes (2018), (video excerpt)

EM – LIST (Italian tactile sign language) and LIS (Italian sign language) have recently become official languages. Do you think these non-phonetic and gestural languages share anything with the artistic language of performance?

MF – Gloves (2017)

EM – In your works, cause and effect are distorted and interface with the body, often explored playfully. What is your vision of these elements?

MF – 0O°°°oo°0Oo°O0 (2010)

EM – Is there an artistic or non-artistic reference that has had particular importance in the development of your artistic and personal career?

MF – From the forbidden zone (2009). I would like to mention three: “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley, “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka, “The Double” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

CL-o-WN  (2019) | Photo credits: Rafael Kroetz | Courtesy the Artist and Galleria Raffaella Cortese, Milano;
0O°°°oo°0Oo°O0 (2010) (video excerpt) | Camera: Oswald Gerstl | Sound: Giovanni Formilan
Courtesy the Artist and Galleria Raffaella Cortese, Milano;
Gloves (2017) | Photo credits: Lorenzo Palmieri | Courtesy the Artist and Galleria Raffaella Cortese, Milano;
Polymorphic Archetypes (2018), (video excerpt) 3 channel video installation (38 Minutes) | Camera: Rafael Kroetz
Sound: Koen Vermeulen| Courtesy the Artist and Galleria Raffaella Cortese, Milano;
From the forbidden zone (2009) | Performance at Museion | Photo credits: Ivo Corrà | Courtesy the Artist and Galleria Raffaella Cortese, Milano;